---
title: "Unkey Pricing, Features & Alternatives (2026)"
description: "Unkey review: API Gateways & Key Management tool — Free tier, plans, pros & cons, and the best Unkey alternatives compared for startups in 2026."
source: https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/unkey
retrieved: 2026-10-07
---

![Unkey logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=unkey.com&sz=128)

[API Gateways & Key Management](https://appstackbuilder.com/categories/api-gateway)Free tier

# Unkey: Pricing, Features & Alternatives

Unkey handles the part of an API product most teams build badly: issuing keys, verifying them on every request, per-key rate limits and usage tracking, and revoking them. It is open source on GitHub and offered as a hosted service. Free covers 150K valid verifications a month and 1,000 keys. Pro starts at $25/month for 250K verifications and scales to $1,000/month for 100M, with 1M keys. It is not a full gateway: it sits inside your API rather than in front of it.

Category

API Gateways & Key Management

Pricing

Free tier available

Free tier

Yes

Best for

API Gateways & Key Management — api-keys, rate-limiting

[Visit Unkey official site](https://www.unkey.com)

## Unkey Pricing Plans (2026)

| Plan       | Price            | Highlights                                               |
| ---------- | ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| Free       | $0               | 150K verifications / month · 1,000 API keys · 1-day logs |
| ProPopular | From $25 / month | 250K verifications / month · 1M API keys · 7-day logs    |
| Enterprise | Custom           | Dedicated infrastructure · IP allow-listing              |

Pricing summary: Free · paid from $25/mo. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.

## Key Unkey Features

* ✓250K verifications / month
* ✓1M API keys
* ✓7-day logs

### ✓ Pros

* +Open source, so it can be self-hosted
* +One API call to verify a key and apply its rate limit
* +Per-key usage limits and analytics built in

### ✗ Cons

* −Key management only, not a routing gateway
* −You still write the middleware that calls it
* −Short log retention on lower plans

## Best Unkey Alternatives

[Compare all ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tool-alternatives/unkey)

[![Zuplo logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=zuplo.com&sz=128)ZuploFree · paid from $25/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/zuplo)[![Kong Konnect logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=konghq.com&sz=128)Kong KonnectFree · paid from $25/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/kong-konnect)[![Tyk logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=tyk.io&sz=128)TykFree · paid plans by quote](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/tyk)

## Unkey Compared

[Unkey vs Zuplo](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/unkey-vs-zuplo)[Unkey vs Kong Konnect](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/kong-konnect-vs-unkey)[Unkey vs Tyk](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/tyk-vs-unkey)

## Unkey FAQ

What is Unkey used for?⌄

Unkey is a api gateways & key management tool. Open-source API key management and rate limiting: issue, verify and revoke keys with one API call. Free up to 150K verifications.

Is Unkey free?⌄

Yes — Unkey has a free tier you can start with, and paid plans for more usage and features.

How much does Unkey cost?⌄

Unkey offers a free tier, with paid plans starting at $25/month. Some plans are usage-based (pay-as-you-go).

What are the best Unkey alternatives?⌄

Popular Unkey alternatives include Zuplo, Kong Konnect, Tyk. Compare pricing and features on our Unkey alternatives page.

## Not sure if Unkey fits your stack?

Get a free, AI-powered tech stack tailored to your budget, app type, and team size — including the best api gateways & key management pick for you.

[Build my stack free ](https://appstackbuilder.com/)